Crown chairman
James Packer
has cleared the final hurdle to increase his shareholding in rival
Echo Entertainment Group
.

The Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation wrote to
Crown
on Friday, advising the company that it could increase its stake in Echo past a 10 per cent constitutional cap.

The approval was expected after the NSW gaming regulator approved Crown’s application one week ago, however some details are different.

The Queensland regulator has imposed a final cap on Crown’s Echo shareholding of 24.99 per cent, while NSW has approved 23 per cent. Crown will have stay below 23 per cent to ­satisfy both rulings.

Although Crown applied to increase its stake to 25 per cent, both regulators took into account a provision that Echo has with US bond holders that allows those investors to ask for repayment if one shareholder reached 25 per cent.

A similar application with the regulators from
Genting Hong Kong
made in June 2012 is still undecided.

Despite approval, it is unlikely that Mr Packer will move immediately. A decision between Crown and Echo’s competing proposals to develop tourism and casino facilities in Sydney is expected soon after a final lodgement due date of June 21.

But it hasn’t all been good news for Mr Packer, who also announced a winning design for Crown’s Sydney proposal this week.

Related Quotes

Company Profile

Mr Packer lost an attempt to remove himself, Crown Ltd and subsidiary Crown Services US from legal action over a failed Las Vegas casino venture.

A petition filed in the Nevada Supreme Court in July 2012 to have the claim against Mr Packer and his associated entities dismissed was denied this week, court documents have shown.

Crown took a $US250 million minority investment in the $US2.9 billion Fontainebleau casino development in June 2007. Following bankruptcy of the development in mid-2009, a group of 46 lenders have alleged fraud and concealment of cost overruns.